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05-24-2008, 09:47 AM
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Beer lasting a year?
I picked up a 1/4 BBL of Yuengling Lager yesterday at my local store. I asked the guy "how quickly do you go through the kegs"? He said the light beers usally go quicker than the Yuengling, but the Yuengling can be good for up to a year. I've always read beer last anywhere from 2- 4 months. Can this be true? Or is he making it up so I buy the beer? Thanks for any help.
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05-24-2008, 10:05 AM
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It isn't going to be fresh after a year.
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05-24-2008, 01:11 PM
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Should be an expiration or born on date on the keg. Check before you purchase.
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05-24-2008, 01:35 PM
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If beer lasted a year... I'd have more than just a 1/2 barrell on tap... 
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05-24-2008, 05:01 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by monkey710
Should be an expiration or born on date on the keg. Check before you purchase.
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I couldn't find a date on it, but the beer has always tasted fresh when buying from there. |
05-27-2008, 10:54 AM
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If there are any identifying markings/numbers on the keg, you can call the brewery and they can tell you.
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05-27-2008, 11:49 AM
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Yuengling lager is a non-pasteurized product in the keg and the shelf life probably is close to 50 days. After this time, the flavor will begin to diminish.
After picking it up from the store, due to shipping and inventory period, expect no more than 30 days. The fresher the product, the better it will taste.
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05-29-2008, 07:33 AM
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I knew it wouldn't stay fresh that long. It was some young kid that said it anyway. I usually drink it with in 30 days anyway. Thanks for everyone's help.
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05-29-2008, 07:49 AM
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30 days seems so short. I love beer, but I don't drink as much as I used to. I guess I'll stick with the 1/4 bbl since I'll mostly be drinking it myself...I'll probably reconsider that size once my buddies get wind of the new kegerator at my house! Can't unveil it until there is a cold keg inside though!
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05-29-2008, 08:12 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LasKid
30 days seems so short. I love beer, but I don't drink as much as I used to. I guess I'll stick with the 1/4 bbl since I'll mostly be drinking it myself...I'll probably reconsider that size once my buddies get wind of the new kegerator at my house! Can't unveil it until there is a cold keg inside though!
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It'll last longer than 30 days.
I've had brewers tell me that, as long as it's cold and under pressure, that keg beer will last 6 months, easily, with little effect on the flavor.
Last summer I had a 1/2 keg of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, that was already 2 months old when I tapped it. It tasted great, and I'm very particular.
You'll be surprised how fast you go through a sixtel, especially when your friend stop by!
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05-29-2008, 08:42 AM
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The shelf life is normally determined by flavor panelist at the brewery as to what they deem acceptable. These folks not only have high sensory skills, they are trained on how to use them. Their expectations are probably much higher than ours in regards to the quality of their products.
Where we may be quite satisfied with the flavor, they would deem it undesirable.
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05-29-2008, 10:32 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scott Zuhse
The shelf life is normally determined by flavor panelist at the brewery as to what they deem acceptable. These folks not only have high sensory skills, they are trained on how to use them. Their expectations are probably much higher than ours in regards to the quality of their products.
Where we may be quite satisfied with the flavor, they would deem it undesirable.
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And then there are some people who apparently have no taste buds whatsoever.... Take one of my friends, for example. He got a keg of Bud Light for New Years Eve. He couldn't find one, but I managed to get one for him. So I picked it up, payed the deposit, etc, and brought it over to his house. We used a plain old hand pump party tap. New Years eve was on a Monday night this past year.
So ANYWAYS... I called him the following Sunday to see if he was home and I could pick up the keg to return... to which he informed me that he was still drinking off of it. He finally finished it on a Wednesday night, like 9 days after we tapped it. Man that beer had to be gross. I've tried in the past to drink beer out of a Keg on a Sunday that had been tapped on a Friday. And THAT beer was bad.
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Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed.
Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery
and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn't drink this beer, they might
be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself,
"It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than
be selfish and worry about my liver."
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05-29-2008, 10:47 AM
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Possibly we could all donate money so that we can send your friend to a clinic to seek help for his ruined taste buds. I would not wish the experience of drinking oxidized beer on anyone!
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05-29-2008, 03:07 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Skinsfan1311
Last summer I had a 1/2 keg of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, that was already 2 months old when I tapped it. It tasted great, and I'm very particular.
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Of course it tasted good. There are hops in that particular beer. Hops are are a preservative for beer. Bud Lights and other American lagers won't keep as well IMHO due to the low amounts of hops in them.
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05-29-2008, 05:11 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by psychodad
Of course it tasted good. There are hops in that particular beer. Hops are are a preservative for beer. Bud Lights and other American lagers won't keep as well IMHO due to the low amounts of hops in them.
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Makes sense to me.
I've only ever tapped ales.
I'm a serious hop-head and, believe it or not, the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale was the lowest hopped beer that I've ever tapped.
I typically go for our local,(Baltimore area), high-hopped beers. That way, I always get a very fresh keg. My most recent keg, was filled the day before I picked it up!!
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05-30-2008, 07:00 AM
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I don’t consider myself an expert in beer tasting but I think after 3-4 weeks light beer starts tasting flat and old. I had bud select on tap for 3 weeks and I could tell the difference in the end.
I am going to get a coupler for euro beers just so I can have a pasteurized beer on tap since they stay fresh about twice as long.
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05-30-2008, 07:20 AM
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Do can and bottles of beer stay fresher longer than keg beer?
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05-30-2008, 07:58 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bg44
I don’t consider myself an expert in beer tasting but I think after 3-4 weeks light beer starts tasting flat and old. I had bud select on tap for 3 weeks and I could tell the difference in the end.
I am going to get a coupler for euro beers just so I can have a pasteurized beer on tap since they stay fresh about twice as long.
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What did you have the pressure set to? My neighbor got his kegerator several months before I did. Some numnut he worked with told him to keep the pressure at 6 or 7. And what happened? Towards the end 1/3 of the barrel, about 2-3 weeks later, his Bud Light tasted flat and old. Once I got my kegerator, joined this forum, and learned a few things, I schooled him on the pressure and told him to keep it at least at 12. Now his beer is like a cup of Maxwell House. Good to the last drop.
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____________________________________________
Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed.
Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery
and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn't drink this beer, they might
be out of work and their dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself,
"It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true than
be selfish and worry about my liver."
____________________________________________
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05-30-2008, 03:35 PM
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Senior Member
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Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 56
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cubby_swans
What did you have the pressure set to? My neighbor got his kegerator several months before I did. Some numnut he worked with told him to keep the pressure at 6 or 7. And what happened? Towards the end 1/3 of the barrel, about 2-3 weeks later, his Bud Light tasted flat and old. Once I got my kegerator, joined this forum, and learned a few things, I schooled him on the pressure and told him to keep it at least at 12. Now his beer is like a cup of Maxwell House. Good to the last drop.
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Like the Maxwell House reference, might have to borrow that one. I had it set to 12psi but it was my first keg in my new kegerator so could have been user error. I've got two kegs in now that are two weeks old (boulevard pale ale and O'Dell's Cutthroat Porter) and they are both very fresh. In fact I'm enjoying the porter right now....
I wish I was younger so that I would not have to worry about a keg lasting too long. |
05-30-2008, 07:29 PM
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Quote:
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like a cup of Maxwell House. Good to the last drop.
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LOL
This is a GREAT topic, because I don't 'drink a lot' or entertain very much; although, I'd really like to have two seperate beers on tap for when I do. (you never know when friends might stop by and it would be cool to have two beers available) I'm just worried they'll go bad before I can finish two seperate 1/4 kegs off. |
05-31-2008, 09:41 AM
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Maybe find beers that are available in 1/6 barrels. It'll be less to drink and go bad if you don't finish them.
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05-31-2008, 11:53 AM
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Quote:
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find beers that are available in 1/6 barrels
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I don't think the liquior stors around here in Delaware carry 1/6 barrels. The three liquior stores I asked said, "only standard 1/2 and 1/4", NOT even the slims.... That's why I got a 14.8 cu ft freezer (and it takes up A LOT of room) | | | | |
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